Ironing machine



Sept. 21 ,1926. 1,600,211

A. W. BENJAMIN IRONING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 2s, 1920 Sept. 21 1926. v 1,600,211

A. w. BENJAMIN IRONING MACHINE Filed J'uly 26, 1920 5 sheets-sheet 2 Sept. 21 1926.

A. W. BENJAMIN IRONING MACHINE 5 SheetsfSheer. 5

Filed July 26 1920 nwww Patented Sept. 21, 1926.

UNITEDY STATES PATENT y OFFICE.

ALFRED W. BENJAMIN, OF CLEVELAND HEIGHTS VILLAGE, OHIO, ASSIGNOR T HENBmTTA C. BENJAMIN 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO.

moNING MACHINEL.'

Applicationled July 26, 1920. Seriall No. 399,012.

This invention relates to the class of laundry machines and more partlcularly to 1mprovements in ironing machines.

The objects of my invention are to providev i means whereby the pressure of the ironing head against the roll may berelieved with- Iout stopping the operation of the roll; to provide a clutch connection for the roll operating means to be controlled from the same i treadle which is actuated for engagement and disengagement of the ironin head with the roll; to provide an improve means for applying extreme pressure to the ironing head against the roll; to provide hand operi ated means for locking theironing head in extreme pressure position; to provide an overhangingfroll upon which the work can be placed and from which it can be removed from the ,end thereof` said roll being prac- 0 tically co-eXtensive with the length of the rest of the machinegto provide a table ex-Y tending the length of the roll which can be swung toward and away from the roll.

A full understanding of my preferred form of structure will be had from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of my machine; Fig. `2 is a front elevation of the same with 0' part broken away; Fig. 3 is a Vdetail view showing the manner of mounting the roll; Fig. 4 is 'a detail view of the clutch and the arrangement of the drive shaft in the lubricant trough; Fig. 5 is taken on` line 5- 5 5 Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a. view of the latch means for the lever which is operated to lock the treadle in pressure position; and Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional View thereof, taken *on* line 7--7 Fig. 6. l t v The table 2 which is supported upon the frame work 1 and 1 supportsthe roll 3, thetable 4, which extends the full length of ,therroll, and the ironing head 5. which also extends theiull length of the roll and which L5 is adapted to be moved into and out of ironing engagement with the roll through its lever operating mechanism, as will be later explained. Roll 3 is suitably padded for ironing and theironing head may be heated 50 in any suitable manner.

p The bracket 6 which extends upwardly from' the table 2 supports the shaft member 7 about which the roll 3 is adaptedA to rotate. -As will be seen from Fig. 3, this 55 shaft support 7 extends into the hollow roll with bearing portions 8 andl9,`the shaft being somewhat tapered toward the end thereof. The collar portions 10 and 11 formed upon the roll are adapted for rotation upon the bearing portions 8 and 9, a shoulder being provided near the inner end of the shaft, and a collar 12 is secured by a set screwl on the extreme end of bearing portion 9. The length of the `roll is practically co-extensive with the rest of the device and is. free to receive work from the overhanging end thereof. A gear 13 upon one end of the roll 3 meshes with the gear 14 which in turn can be thrown into and out of driving connection with the source of power by means of a. clutch connection. The clutch here shown comprises a spring pressed' pin 15a carried by gear 15 to engage inr one of the apertures 14a in the gear 14. Any other suitable type of clutch might be employed. Gears 14 and 15 are mounted upon a/stud shaft 16a which has its support in the bracket 16. This bracket is bolted at the points 17 to the main bracket 6 so that the gears and clutch can be removed as a unit. The well known grooved collar 18 is ,provided upon the other side of the gear 14 and the pins 19 carried by the clutch actuating yoke 20 co-operate with said groove in the well known manner to move the clutch member carried by the gear 14 into and out of engagement with the other clutch member.

The yoke 20 is pivotally mounted at 21` upon the bracket arm 22 depending from table 2 and is actuated by means of the rod l23 which extends through the collar 24.

The lower end of the yoke or lever member .20 is pivotally connected with the collar member 24, and a spring 25 is provided between the collar member 24 and the nuts 26 upon the extreme end of the rodv 23. Stop 2,3 on rod 23 limits the extentof movement of the rod Ito the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, so that when the rod 23 is moved to the right the spring 25 will be placed under tensiony and the gear V14 will be moved to the left, whereby the two clutch. members will be brought into operative mengagement.- The gear 14 is of sufficiently wide tread to be at all times in mesh with the gear 13,

but it will be understood that since the gear v 14 is loosely mounted upon itsishaft support, drive connection through the gears .1.4

and 15 will bel established only when the clutch members are in engagement.- The other end of the rod l23 is pivotally connected at`27 with one end of the belllcrank' lever which is pivotallymounted at 28 upon a bracket 29 -depending from the main table of the machine. The other end of this bell crank lever' has pivotal Connection at 30 with a vertically disposed rod 31,' the lower end of which is pivotally connected at 31 to the pivotal bearing member 33 near the fulcrum of the treadle, from which it will be seen that upon depressing treadle 32 the clutch will be thrown [into operativel engagement. The lever and spring connections between the clutch and treadle and the ironing head and treadle are so` constructed iand arranged that the clutch will be `actuated by rather slight downward motion of the rod 31 so that pressure upon the treadle will cause the clutch to be actuated before the ironing 4head is closed.

The power shaft 35'which has worm gear connection lwith the gear 15, as will be seen in Figs. 2 and 5, is suitably mounted in bearings 36 and 37 formed in the casting set down in the main table of the machine.

This ,casting is also formed with a trough -39 extending along the under side thereof for the purpose of carrying a lubricant for' the dri-ve shaft. Y i j The ironinghead 5 is pivot'ally mounted at the points 40 and 41 upon the upwardly7 extending arms-42 and 43, which are rockably mounted at 44 and 45 upon the shaft '46 which extends across the main table of the machine. and has suitable-bearings 47, 48. One of4 these upwardly extending arms is provided at each end 'off the ironing head.' .The pin 49 carried by the rearward projections 5 O on the ironing head has'loose connection vin the slot 51 provided in the upper end of the.lever arm 52 ,which is pivotally mounted at V53 upon the' bracket arm 54, the last named bracket arm being lsuitably mounted 'upon the main table of the machine. As will be seen from Fig. 1,I

the lever arm 52 extendsxunder part'of the main table of the machine and has pivotal connection at 55 with its operating mecha nism which is connected at its lower end with the treadle 32. The clevis member '57 which is pivoted at 55 to the lever arm 52 receives the upper screw threaded end` yof'rod 56J and yis provided`--with a lock Anut 57a. The clevis member 58- which is pivotally'mounted at 59upon the treadle 32 receives the 'lower threaded end of thetrod 6.0,alock nut 61,"being provided .also for this connection.' The rod 60 is screw "threadedfa't its upper-end into the lower end of the barrel member 62, a lock nut 63 .being provided at this point. The upper .end of the barrel is adapted to move up and down 'upon the rod 56, a nut. 64 limiting its upward movement thereon. The lower end of the rod 56 is spaced somewhat from the upper end of the rod 60, the lower end of rod 56 having sliding engagement in the lower end of the barrelv 62. A- spring 65 which surrounds the lower portion of the rod 56 has its lower end formed about a boss upon the nut 66 which is threaded upon rod 56 and has-a lock nut 67. Nuts .66 and 67 are provided with recesses 66a, 67a in their sides for application of a Aspanner wrench. The upper end of this spring; 65v surrounds the boss 68 provided within ,the upper end of the, barrel. The tension of this spring can be regulated by adjustment of the nuts 66 and 67.

Thus, it will be seen that upon downward novement of the 'treadle 32 the barrel 62 will also be given downward movement because of its positive connectionfwith the rod 60, while the .upper end of the barrel will move freely down the rod 56 and compress the spring against the nut 66.` In this way operative connection is effected between the treadle and the .lever 52; in other words` thefoperation oi the lever 52 by means' ofthe rod with' the llever 32 and the lower l Aend of the barrel allow adjustment so as to increase or decrease the length of this part 'of the lever mechanism, and the same ad' justment can be had at the upper end ofl therod 56. The spring 69, which is conf nected at its upper end to the Aunder side of the main support of the machine by means ot' the hook andveye connections 70 and 71, has pivotal connection at itsl lower end with the treadle at the point 72 opposite the pivotal connectionl 33 Loithe clutch actuating lever with vthe treadle# The normal tendency of` this spring 69 is to raise the treadle 32 and -through the connections above described move Athe ironing head away' from the roll; which means that in closing the ironing head it is necessary to overcome the tensionof the spring 69 and `upon full release ofthe treadle -32 the ironing headis automatically opened by action of this sprino' A bell cranlnxrlever7 is pivotally mounted I at the point 74 u on the supporting frame .of the machine, t e lower arm of'this bell crank lever constituting'a locking means for engagement withy the upper lsidet of the treadle 32'to hold the treadle in fully depressed position.. vThe lower -end of the locking .lever is beveled so as toproperly engage the upper face ofthe treadle lever .32.' The other arm of the bell crank lever 73 is pivotally connected tothe lower end of a link or" rod membery which is pivotally connected at lits upper end with the lever member 76. The lever member 76 is mounted upon one end of a shaft 77 which is under side of the table 2 as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2. Thus the'lever 76 is limited in its fmovementf'to" the right, as

viewed in Fig. 2, and the bolt 82 can be Set at different positions and secured by means of lock-nut 83. In this way the vlock lever 73 will be stopped when lit comes to proper lposition over the trea'dle 3 2. A.A spring84L surrounds one end portion ofthe shaft 77'- and is compressed betweenthe arm 81 and the adjacent face of the bearing member vfor the shaft '77. Upon manipulation of lever 80, a in 85, which is fixed upon the inner face t lereoi is adapted to snapinto and out of recesses 86 in the face of thel bent up, as will be clearly seen from Fig. 1, f'

bearing portion 79 formed on the depending iange, of the main table 2. Thus, it will be seen that upon movement of the hand lever 80 the engagement of pin 85 inthe recesses .86 under the tension of spring 84 will hold the lever in either position to which it is moved. j f

The table 4 which extends the full length of the roll is suitably mounted .at oneend upon a bracket 88 into which there is.

fixed a pivot pin 89 by means of lock pin 90. .The pin 89 is pivotally mounted in` a deep recess or Well 91EL in thev complementary bracket 91 which is mounted upon the main table of the machine. By this arrangement the table canv be swung in ahorizontal. lane either. toward or away from. the rol 3.

The other end ofthe table carries a leg 92,

the lower end of which carries a pin 93- which is adapted to drop -into the recess 94 provided in the table 2. This means is provided for securing the table 4'in'position adjacent to the roll. When it is desiredto move the table away from-the roll it is simff `ply necessary to raise the pin 93 out of its revolve the table on the axis of the p seat and fpin 89. That usedalso for iling work thereon. An apron 95 extends rom the"'front edge of the tabl`e2 andis so as to receivethematerials as they come` from between theironing headandthe roll. This apron extends the'lfull length of theV machine and allows the ironed ina'- terials to be received by this'a ron andA moved to the front part of the tab e 2. A buffer in the'Afiorxii-of, ra

and properly Yadjusted without roll; and if desire y, ".L'meansl of 'spring- 96l 1s! provided upon the end of the lever 52, as;

will be seen from Fig. 1, so as to provide a means for absorbing the jaras thls end. of the lever 'moves' toward. the table '2.

scribed is briefly stated as follows:-

The operation` of the structure )ust de- Upon firstdepressing the treadle 32 the clutchlfor tle roll is thrown'intooperative engagement which starts rotation of the.

roll. Then upon yfurther l' depression of treadle 32 the tension of spring 69 is overcolnesuiiciently to move the head 5 into .the treadle inthis position, this may be 'accomplished vby opera ion of the -lever 80l close relationship with respect to the roll v 3, at which point the materlalls to be ironed which .will cause the vertically disposed arm l of the bell crank lever 73 to move into the kpath of the lever 32. and lock the same against upward movement. Should it be desired to release the extreme pressure of the ironing head without stopping the roll,

this may be done by releasing the locking y member 73 .and byL proper control of.v foot* pressure upon thetreadle 32, part of the pressure. thereon can be jrelieved,v that, is. tov

say, tie tension upon the spring in the bar rel can be relieved by allowing the treadle 32- to rise to a certain extent, but atthe same its opening influence upon the ironing head 5, and furthermore, without allowing disen` `10p i time not allowing the vspring. 69 to/'exert 1 gagement of the clutch for the roll. This l releasing of the treadle 32 does not ironing lead without affecting the clutchf With my particular machine, it is possible to place the materials upon they roll from artia iii ect the clutch but simply relieves the comp ession of the spring 65, which compresa pointat one end thereof without the'interf ference of any'part of theframe work orortion of the main table 2 which extends 1n iront of the'table 4, as will Vclearly appear in Fig. 1, can bev mechanism. `Furthermore, this is accomyond the other parts ofjthefmachine.- Then, too, vit is-possi le v.with my .machine to relieve the extreme pressureof.` the ironing be inserte p the` inconand againstart/ing the head so that the materials can venience of stoppm be withdrawn from the ironing-head cali the roll without disf i vengaging the clutch. Furthermore," -by p the "lockfforazthe treadlexit' is not necessary vfdr the operator to'` continue to hold his foot upon the treadle vini'order to hold the ironing head in extreme pressure position. Another important feature of this invention resides' in the table from which the work is'fed to the roll and which can be swung to a position adjacent the roll or to another position away therefrom.

- VOther advantages` flowing from this invention will be apparent to those who are skilled in the art. v What Iclaim is': v

' l. In an ironing machine, the combination of an ironing roll, a frame therefor, means `mounted upon said frame for movement about a' substantially vertical Vlined i. pivot point linto and out of parallel relation with a horizontal plane, a `foot` u on the other end portion of said table an a releasable 'locking connection between said foot and support, whereby the table can be either .placed in `position near the roll or swung away from the same. i

f3. In anv lromng machine, the combination of a frame, la rlgid arm`extending outwardly from said frame and provided with' bearings at its inner and outer ends, a roll provided with bearing means atone end and another bearing intermediate its ends 'adapted for cooperation with the bearings `on said arm, said roll extending endwise beyond the free end of said arm and being provided l at its inner end with an external driving member. Y v

4f. In4 an ironing machine, 'the combination of a roll, an operating connection for said roll, an ironing shoe cooperating with said roll, means for closing and applying pressure to said ironing shoe, locking means movable into and out of the path of said last-named means for maintaining the same iny set position, operating means therefor,

and means for securing said operating means in either lock or release position. l5. In an lironing machine, the combina-y tion of a roll, an ironinghead cooperating with said roll, meansincludingfa. treadle for closing and applying pressure to said head, a bell-crank lever with one arm adapted to engage said treadle and lock the same in pressure position, and operator operated means for moving said lever to looking 'positionand for releasing the same.

6. In an ironing machine, the-combina. tion ofan -ironing roll, an ironing` shoe cooperating with said roll, pivotally mounted arms having pivotal connection withthe ends of said shoe, permitting movement to- .wards and from the roll, lever mechanism for moving said shoe ltowards and from said roll, andan equalizingconnection between vsaid mechanism and sald shoe at al point substantially midway of the length of, said shoe, whereby upon operation of said'lever mechanism said shoe is permittedgto assume proper' seating engagement with the roll,

according to the varying thicknesses of the as well as different pieces of same piece work.

i p. ALFRED1W. BENJAMIN.

' In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature. 1 

